Dovima With Elephants Richard Avedon's photograph "Dovima with Elephants" was taken in Paris, France during the month of August in 1955. It was a commercial piece for Harper's Bazaar to promote the work of Christian Dior. The picture was taken with trained circus elephants that are visibly shackled while the woman at the center is not, indicating the underlying social tension and low position of women during the period, although that might not have been realized at the time the photograph was taken. The model Dovima, who was born Dorothy Juba, is wearing a whit Dior evening gown and, as the title of the picture suggests, she is surrounded on both sides by large elephants. There are actually two photographs which have the same title and were taken on the same day. One has the model in a black dress. They are both culturally significant but for the sake of cultural argument, the white dress photo will be the one focused on. In the nearly sixty years since, the picture has become an iconic image showing off the skills of the photographer, the beauty of design during the period, and the general culture of the western world during the 1950s.

Christian Dior was behind the dress that Dovima wears in the photograph. He was considered the premier designer of the 1950s, creating iconic outfits for the likes of Princess Grace of Monaco and Audrey Hepburn. Dior also created what he called "The New Look" which was a direct response to the Depression and wartime fashions of the 1930s and '40s. During those times, women were concerned with feeding their families and helping the war effort and fashion took a turn towards the practical. However, in the 1950s women were sent back to the kitchens to take care of their returning soldier husbands and baby boomer children. Fashion responded to this renewed femininity. Dior specialized in creating dresses which were both aesthetically clean and decidedly feminine, often with voluminous skirts, plenty of fabric, and embellishments. The dress in "Dovima with Elephants" is a perfect example of...

Interestingly, this dress was designed for the House of Dior by a man who would also become a premier fashion designer himself, Yves St. Laurent. Both men were interested in restoring women to an elevated position in terms of glamour. Women were to be pretty above all things.
"The New Look" Christian Dior was about aesthetic style. While there were certainly beautiful gowns being designed in the 1930s and '40s, they were limited in who could hope to wear them. Evening gowns were for the very wealthy only. Everyday women would have to settle for clothes which they could wear but which would also be useful for work both in the house and out. Dresses of the 1950s for the average housewife did have to be functional, but the level of comfort or practicality was second to how they looked. According to biographer Marie France Pochna, "The true power of this new fashion was as a catalyst for the universal longing for change, the need to forget empty bellies, run-down apartments, and a general feeling of tedium. It was the longing of forty million Frenchmen and women for a return to a normal, happy, healthy, and romantic existence" (1996,-page 138). This was particularly true for the wealthy or famous where evening gowns would be extremely elaborate affairs, but even a regular housedress that would be purchased off the rack by the end of the '50s would be based on the designs that Dior created for his New Look.

In the dress that Dovima wears in "Dovima with Elephants" is a white ankle-length evening dress. The dress appears plain except when looking closely where it appears that the bodice and skirt appear to be separate pieces that have been put together which is shown by a somewhat heavy hemline which is accentuated by the way Dovima is turned. It does not have the full skirt that would be characteristic of 50s fashion, but does have some of the other stereotypical components. Specifically, the flower on the bust of the dress is given a great deal of prominence. The top of the dress…